HARRY REID 
NEVADA 
<Bnitnt ~rotrs ~rnatr 
The Honorable Loretta Lynch 
Attorney General 
U.S. Department of Justice 
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 
Washington, D.C. 20530 
The Honorable Tom Wheeler 
Chairman 
Federal Communications Commission 
445 121h Street, SW 
Washington, D.C. 20554 
WASHINGTON, DC 20510- 7020 
February 29, 2016 
Dear Attorney General Lynch and Chairman Wheeler: 
DEMOCRATIC LEADER 
Most Americans enjoy little competition in the high-speed broadband marketplace. This lack of competition 
creates a risk that investment and innovation in broadband will stagnate, leading to higher prices and fewer 
choices for consumers. Further consolidation may increase this risk. For this reason, I urge you to review 
closely Charter's proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, which effectively 
creates a national high-s peed broadband duopoly, to determine whether further broadband consolidation is in 
the public interest. 
When examining Comcast's proposed acquisition of Time Warner, the Justice Department and federal 
Communications Commission questioned whether the consolidated company would be more likely to act as 
a "gatekeeper" between customers and content providers. Based on both press reports and remarks given by 
senior agency officials subsequent to the review, the agencies determined the answer was yes. Using this 
standard, there is a significant question about whether Charter's purchase of Time Warner will lead to the 
same result. The proposed Charter acq uisition has the potential to erect further barriers to broadband 
competition, including from wireless and fiber. Moreover, barriers to broadband competition and reduced 
consumer choice in on line video inextricably are linked. Ensuring access to and effective competition 
among online video distributors (OVDs) is essential to promoting continued investment in broadband. And 
while little attention has been placed on Charter's forays into the online video market or the commercial 
relationships between Charter and Liberty Media, these facts should not be ignored. 
While the companies involved in the Charter transaction may commit to mitigating anticompetitive 
outcomes, I ask that you closely review how effectively such commitments may be enforced. Further, I ask 
you to examine whether any policies that may benefit OVDs in the short term create the type of long-term 
certainty necessary to entice new entrants to this nascent marketplace. A competitive broadband marketplace 
is the only circumstance that will drive this outcome and until such a marketplace exists, further 
consol idation may pose a sign ificant risk to consumers. 
Thank you for your attention to this matter. 
fl~ 
Democratic Leader 
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